Rumor: Bungies new game is a MMOFPS (Destiny), Fires 30 contractors due to Activision

Vinterbird said:
Still surprised people didn't jump to the MMO conclusion after signing a ten year contract with a publisher. You don't do that unless you are going to maintain servers, expansions and provide constant content for the end user.

And no doubt this will be the next thing after CoD for Activision.
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Also you don't sign with ActiBlizzard unless you need expertise with how to maintain and develop a MMO for the future.
 
Looking at this statement:
The claim is false.

Bungie has never been asked to lay off any employees or contract employees by our publisher, Activision-Blizzard, for any reason. The talented professionals who grace our offices day in and day out are the lifeblood of Bungie – our most cherished commodity – and the unsubstantiated rumors posted today are in direct opposition to the culture and values that we believe make Bungie an exceptional place to work, and to call home.
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They don't deny that they fired people, they only say that Activision didn't make them do it.
 
Hammer24 said:
Remind me again, why did they leave MS? To have the exact same creative freedom, just with 30+ people less?
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The story I heard was it was more or less all about money and ego. They figured they could be making a shitload more with a proprietary scifi IP (Halo without the Halo name) than they were with Microsoft, and they were peeved about treated as another developer despite arguably defining the Xbox console with Halo 1/Halo 2 (when the latter was released, Bungie brass began vocally expressing their desires to spinoff). And the success of the 360 was dependent on Halo 3, perhaps the most-anticipated title in the history of gaming, so Bungie had an amazingly strong hand.
 
Please yes. I'm not the hugest fan of the Halo series, but a quality developer like Bungie who would be given tons of time on top of being a good developer could make this really cool. It's the genre I've most wanted to see actually work.
 
Sucks about the news either way you cut it, but I did love planetside back when it was new and popular aka filled with tons of players, it was a great experience fighting 200 v 200 wars.
 
Bungie shouldn't have said anything. Let people lose their shit over a rumor for a while then smack them down with the truth at a later date for maximum hilarity.
 
cuyahoga said:
The story I heard was it was more or less all about money and ego. They figured they could be making a shitload more with a proprietary scifi IP (Halo without the Halo name) than they were with Microsoft, and they were peeved about treated as another developer despite arguably defining the Xbox console with Halo 1/Halo 2 (when the latter was released, Bungie brass began vocally expressing their desires to spinoff). And the success of the 360 was dependent on Halo 3, perhaps the most-anticipated title in the history of gaming, so Bungie had an amazingly strong hand.
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In short: a bloated ego penis comparison contest.
 
Right now, between the slimy weasel words of Bungie's denial and the general modus operandi of Activision, I believe this rumour.

I'm not familiar with Kotaku's history. What have they done to earn their reputation, out of curiosity?
 
urk said:
Yup. We're not in a firing mood. Plenty of available positions are posted on our website right now.
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So what you're saying is, you want to hire people to fire them. Typical.

edit: Yes, I'm joking.

Also they probably fired Shishka.
 
Igo said:
Bungie shouldn't have said anything. Let people lose their shit over a rumor for a while then smack them down with the truth at a later date for maximum hilarity.
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If the rumor was just about their game I'm sure they would have done that. But stories like this can impact the quality of the people a studio can hire if there's rampant rumors that they're treating them like crap. As Urk said, they're hiring.
 
If they still have a copy of that email showing they were doing an end run around unemployment, the state they work in could put a pretty huge smack down on them. You simply cannot do that without major repercussions.

They make a mention to "agencies", so were they actual Bungie employees or contractors?
 
We posted an update.

If you guys are interested.

And before I get mauled, I've been very careful with this story, and taken all the steps I can to do things properly.
 
MrSerrels said:
We posted an update.

If you guys are interested.

And before I get mauled, I've been very careful with this story, and taken all the steps I can to do things properly.
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Bungie keeps denying it and your source is anonymous.


Also, "The source claimed that Bungie pays these contractors a set amount and the agency itself decides how much to pay the contractors."

There must be a mistake there. If Bungie pays the contractors directly then why does the agency have any say in that?
 
godhandiscen said:
Bungie keeps denying it and your source is anonymous.


Also, "The source claimed that Bungie pays these contractors a set amount and the agency itself decides how much to pay the contractors."

There must be a mistake there. If Bungie pays the contractors directly then why does the agency have any say in that?
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My bad. Updated. Fair shout.

I know who the source is, they've asked not to be named for numerous reasons.
 
Contracting firms negotiate hourly rates for a certain type of job with the company that needs contractors. The contractors negotiate their rates directly with the contracting agency separately, not with with company itself.
 
Choc said:
so from what i am reading, if you are sacked in the US for performance issues you can't get unemployment benefits?

that's pretty fucked america
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Why?

If your an idiot, and you don't know how to work, why should you be paid unemployment?

Im not saying all the people that were fired just now are terrible workers, but I can guarantee you, if they were star employee's, they would not have been let go.
 
Uh, you can totally collect unemployment if you're fired. Just not if you quit. Or if you're fired because you fucked the receptionist in the broom closet.
 
MrSerrels said:
My bad. Updated. Fair shout.

I know who the source, they've asked not to be named for numerous reasons.
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Even if you know the source, the problem is that you are not putting this into context. Working as a contractor through an agency means you work for the agency and not for the company that requires the services of the agency. The agency is supposed to care for your benefits, etc. Also, a mass layoff of employess of a contract firm can be explained as a disagreement between Bungie and the agency. The story makes more sense now tbh. It sucks if Bungie terminated 30 ppl's jobs at once, but the contractors are not left in the cold either, they deal with an agency and that agency takes care of their benefits. If the agency doesn't provice any benefits to their employees, then no freaking wonder Bungie terminated their deal with them, that agency must be doing some other shady shit.

Your source is pissed and you need to do more research about how contract jobs work in the US.
 
I'm sorry but I totally call bullshit. You think Bungie treating people like shit wouldn't get out long before this if it was a regular thing? It without a doubt would have. After all if you're treated like crap you wouldn't want to work at a place that treats you that way. Yet many keep quiet cause they want to work at the place that treats them like shit.

godhandiscen said:
Even if you know the source, the problem is that you are not putting this into context. Working as a contractor through an agency means you work for the agency and not for the company that requires the services of the agency. The agency is supposed to care for your benefits, etc. Also, a mass layoff of employess of a contract firm can be explained as a disagreement between Bungie and the agency. The story makes more sense now tbh. It sucks if Bungie terminated 30 ppl's jobs at once, but the contractors are not left in the cold either, they deal with an agency and that agency takes care of their benefits. If the agency doesn't provice any benefits to their employees, then no freaking wonder Bungie terminated their deal with them, that agency must be doing some other shady shit.

Your source is pissed and you need to do more research about how contract jobs work in the US.
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This sounds more realistic. They're treated like crap by the agency they contract with. Bungie finds out and says that they're not going to use that agency. As a result the agency terminates those employees since Bungie no longer requires that agency's services.

Course this is assuming Urk is flat out fucking lying with his posts at HBO and he sure as hell isn't the type of person to do that.
 
Even though I still believe my previous statement, I do feel bad for believing this without getting Bungie's side of the story. I apologize for taking part in the poo poo parade before all the facts were known.
 
First off, why the fuck would they address rumor and speculation on a game? ARE YOU MAKING THIS GAME YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED YET?! *Doesn't answer* INTERESTING.

Has any company in the videogame industry ever responded like this when they're as large as Bungie?

Your source desiring to be anonymous is just weird. This isn't watergate, it's someone who supposedly broke NDA and is complaining about losing a job. Seems like they spilled too many beans and lost a lot of credibility.

I really don't see this as anything other thank driving hits to the remaining Kotaku site that doesn't have a fugly design, thus picking up those who stopped visiting because of the visual change.
 
Bungie and Activision sounds like huge dicks if these claims are true

As for the game, I doubt bungie will be the first to make a mmo fps worth playing, but would be nice to see them prove me wrong

edit: guess it was bullshit
 
Scarecrow said:
People sure are quick to trust bungie on this. Not saying urk's statement is necessarily untruthful or anything, but reactions seem a little blind faith-y.
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Also, the legendary edition of this MMO will be rare...really rare. We promise!
 
X26 said:
Bungie and Activision sounds like huge dicks if these claims are true

As for the game, I doubt bungie will be the first to make a mmo fps worth playing, but would be nice to see them prove me wrong
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Read the thread.
 
_Bro said:
First off, why the fuck would they address rumor and speculation on a game? ARE YOU MAKING THIS GAME YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED YET?! *Doesn't answer* INTERESTING.

Has any company in the videogame industry ever responded like this when they're as large as Bungie?

Your source desiring to be anonymous is just weird. This isn't watergate, it's someone who supposedly broke NDA and is complaining about losing a job. Seems like they spilled too many beans and lost a lot of credibility.

I really don't see this as anything other thank driving hits to the remaining Kotaku site that doesn't have a fugly design, thus picking up those who stopped visiting because of the visual change.
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We don't need the hits. I wouldn't write a story like this for the hits. If anything, I wish I hadn't been approached, this has been way more hassle than it's worth - but I have and this isn't a story I can ignore. I've done my best to simply present what I have been told, approached the right people for comment, and they've chosen not to.

If the person I spoke to - who I have completely verified, asked specifically not to be named, and made me remove plenty of other details - what am I supposed to do. Throw the person's name into the wild just for the hell of it?

Anyway - I'm out. I know I've done my checks and wrote the story fairly. I understand that people are quick to judge - I get that. Bungie has a good reputation, and seems like a great place to work. But this is what I've been told. And I'm expecting more to get in contact.
 
godhandiscen said:
Also, "The source claimed that Bungie pays these contractors a set amount and the agency itself decides how much to pay the contractors."

There must be a mistake there. If Bungie pays the contractors directly then why does the agency have any say in that?
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Bungie doesn't pay the contractors, the agency does. Example, Bungie needs a contract texture artist, they call Volt and say 'We need someone, we will give you $40/hr.'. Volt then goes through their database or posts an ad online saying "Volt needs a texture artist for Scifi shooter". Someone comes in and they offer that person $34/hr and Volt pockets the rest.
The contractors pay checks, 401k, health insurance (if offered) are all paid for by Volt.

Here are some examples of Seattle gaming companies using contract firms.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/med/2197190838.html

Throw the person's name into the wild just for the hell of it?
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That person would pretty much be blacklisted from the Seattle developer community. Getting a job is a lot of about who you know, since it is pretty small.
 
MrSerrels said:
We don't need the hits. I wouldn't write a story like this for the hits. If anything, I wish I hadn't been approached, this has been way more hassle than it's worth - but I have and this isn't a story I can ignore. I've done my best to simply present what I have been told, approached the right people for comment, and they've chosen not to.

If the person I spoke to - who I have completely verified, asked specifically not to be named, and made me remove plenty of other details - what am I supposed to do. Throw the person's name into the wild just for the hell of it?
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Here is a novel idea. How about you ask them why anyone would want to work at Bungie who was treated this way by them? You said in your own damn story that others don't talk because they want to work at Bungie. Odd. You treat me like crap like that I'd never want to work at your damn company no matter how much you paid me. Yet apparently those Bungie treats like crap do.

Things just don't add up and everyone with any sense can see that.
 
element said:
Bungie doesn't pay the contractors, the agency does. Example, Bungie needs a contract texture artist, they call Volt and say 'We need someone, we will give you $40/hr.'. Volt then goes through their database or posts an ad online saying "Volt needs a texture artist for Scifi shooter". Someone comes in and they offer that person $34/hr and Volt pockets the rest.
The contractors pay checks, 401k, health insurance (if offered) are all paid for by Volt.

Here are some examples of Seattle gaming companies using contract firms.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/med/2197190838.html

That person would pretty much be blacklisted from the Seattle developer community. Getting a job is a lot of about who you know, since it is pretty small.
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I agree with what you said. My understanding of the industry is as you mentioned, that's why I pointed the mistake. If you check the post right after, he corrected it.
 
PsychoRaven said:
Here is a novel idea. How about you ask them why anyone would want to work at Bungie who was treated this way by them? You said in your own damn story that others don't talk because they want to work at Bungie. Odd. You treat me like crap like that I'd never want to work at your damn company no matter how much you paid me.

Things just don't add up and everyone can see that.
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People want to work. They don't want to be unemployed. From what I've heard the disparity between contract workers and full timers is huge.
 
Regardless of the contractor situation, the fact that Bungie hasn’t addressed any specifics regarding ‘Destiny’ is interesting.
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No, it's not. They don't need to comment on that. PR usually comments to maintain the image of the company, not to expose rumors and speculation as fact or fiction to help people with process of elimination.
 
PsychoRaven said:
After all if you're treated like crap you wouldn't want to work at a place that treats you that way.
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Yet, many people in the industry willingly go to work for/with Activision despite their questionable treatment of employees, including Bungie.
 
derFeef said:
Oh Bungie :(
I hope you truly can make your dream game with this publisher.
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Because they were so limited with Microsoft paying all the bills? Must've been real hard on the guys when only Mountain Dew made a special flavor for their game and not Coke.

Not saying I believe Kotaku but it's pretty nuts to say Bungie had it rough with Microsoft.
 
So the gaming industry is no different then say blue-collar factory workers. Sometimes "temp agencies" are involved, they work their workers twice as hard for a fraction of the cost of a regular employee, then they shit on them in the end especially if they work in an "at will" state?

That really sucks because temp agencies are horrible in the other job worlds. So many horror stories. They know they have people by the nuts in this economy and thus people will grin and deal with it just to get some money in their pocket, no matter how unfairly they're treated.
 
PsychoRaven said:
Here is a novel idea. How about you ask them why anyone would want to work at Bungie who was treated this way by them? You said in your own damn story that others don't talk because they want to work at Bungie. Odd. You treat me like crap like that I'd never want to work at your damn company no matter how much you paid me. Yet apparently those Bungie treats like crap do.

Things just don't add up and everyone with any sense can see that.
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That's the thing with blogs, they don't need to be professional at all. Some can choose to be, others (Kotaku) have a reputation of not caring.
 
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